Percy Turns 17
by Taffeh A. Llama
Summary: Or, the Stolls give Percy a talk, Percy admits a few things about Annabeth, Nico gives him a blue cupcake and blue candy, Percy admits a few more things, and Nico and Percy are okay in the end. One-shot. Eventual PercyxNico. Percico. Post-Giant War.


**Disclaimer: Don't own PJO!**

* * *

"Guys," Percy laughs, "I'm serious. Let me go." The hero is finally seventeen, and even he's surprised he's made it this far. Currently, it's half-past midnight and way past curfew, but the older demigods are too excited to even care. The Giant War's over, Camp Jupiter and Half-Blood have set aside their differences, and, more importantly, everyone's alive and happy. And, of course, that called for a huge party.

"We snuck in some beer just for you, Percy!" Travis protests, holding onto his left arm tightly. "Do you know how hard it is to get that stuff through camp borders _and_ past Chiron?"

"Yeah, and I heard the Aphrodite girls are especially loose today," Conner says with an impish grin on Percy's right. "If you know what I mean."

"Or boys in your case." Travis waggles his eyebrows and high-fives his younger brother behind Percy's back.

"Guys," Percy stresses, "I need to check up on Nico." The son of Hades had hid away in his cabin for most of the night, only coming out to give Hazel a hug and Frank a solemn goodbye before they had gone back to their own camp. While Percy respected that Nico enjoyed his privacy, he wished that he had stayed out for at least an hour, because really, Nico was as big a part of the war as any of the actual seven. But, then again, Nico is Nico and Percy wouldn't have it any other way.

"We were just checking if you were gonna ditch him—"

"—because he was practically our little brother when he was in the Hermes cabin—"

"—and you know what they say about heroes and their little flings—"

Percy frowns. "Are you guys saying what I think you're saying?"

They stop and then start walking again.

"Listen Perce," Travis starts, "you're awesome and all, but don't mess around with Nico's heart, okay?"

Was he seriously getting the talk from Travis and Connor out of all people?

"Yeah," Connor continues, "he's been through a ton of crap and we'd hate to see you hurt him—"

"I'd _never_ do that." Percy snaps, malice on his tongue. "I'd never do anything to hurt him."

They give him a look and say one word. "Annabeth."

Percy freezes. Suddenly, the air seems a lot quieter and a lot colder and he doesn't hear demigods laughing in the distance anymore. If there was something everyone in camp unofficially agreed on, it was to not talk about Percy and Annabeth's relationship—if they could even call it that. Apparently, the Stolls had forgotten the memo.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Percy says stiffly.

They give him another look. "Don't act dumb with us, Percy. It won't work on us."

"We're the masters of acting dumb."

Percy stays quiet for a minute and then sighs, realizing the brothers won't let up.

"It didn't work out, okay?" he admits softly, as if he were afraid of anyone else hearing him. His shoulders slump down as he continues. "It just didn't work out."

"Didn't work out, my ass." Connor snorts. "The golden couple suddenly breaking up? Please."

Percy didn't like where this was going. His hands were already in tight fists, fingernails digging crescents into his palms.

Travis's grip on his arm tightens. "You broke her heart."

It took all of Percy's restraint to not break out of Travis's hold and lash out. "I didn't break her heart. Don't you _dare_ say that."

"It's the truth," Connor quips.

"No, it's not." Percy knew what they were trying to do, trying to get a rise out of him.

"Then what is?" Travis asks, blue eyes boring into his sea-green ones. His mouth is in a straight line, far more serious than the crooked one the son of Hermes normally dons.

Percy decides to stay quiet, teeth grit.

Connor takes this as his moment to speak. "Why is it that neither of you can stay in the same room for more than ten minutes? That you can't look at each other in the eye when you talk? You might have the camp fooled, but not us. We don't want to be in the dark anymore, Percy. We want answers."

Percy feels like he's trapped on both sides with no way out, and he absolutely hates the feeling.

"We deserve to know," Travis adds. Percy doesn't say anything again, and that's when Travis repeats, "So we're right. You broke Annabeth's heart."

"Tartarus broke us," he hisses and breaks free. "Tartarus broke us, and don't you dare tell me I was the one who broke her heart. Do you know how hard it is to see her everyday? To see her try to hide the scars on her skin? Because she doesn't want to remember? For Zeus's sake," Percy's voice cracks and he pauses, running a shaky hand through his dark hair.

He feels like he's going to scream.

"Even _I_ don't want to remember. I see this look on her face, this—this distracted look. I—She's always had that look, but now it's because she's not even _here_ anymore. Like, she's here but not mentally present. Tartarus did that. She's still stuck down there and it's... it's hard to see that person you thought you loved so broken. We both need time to fix ourselves. She's still my best friend, but at the moment, it's like we're strangers." Percy's voice dies down at the end, and his arms hang down by his sides pathetically. "We might as well be strangers."

Connor casts his eyes down in shame, and Travis shifts around guiltily. "We're sorry." And that's all they can say, really.

"I'm sorry, too." And after a while, Percy says, "I need to go see Nico."

The Stolls laugh albeit a bit nervous. "Wouldn't want Nico to go out looking for you, huh?"

"A son of Hades on the loose is never a good thing." Travis and Connor grab onto him once more, and Percy lets them. The air seems a lot lighter, a lot less tense, and Percy realizes that it was probably a good thing to tell at least someone what had happened in hindsight.

(Travis and Connor were most definitely not the right choice, but hey.)

* * *

Somehow, they'd made it all the way to Cabin 13. The solid, obsidian cabin had an ominous aura surrounding it, something old and dark that instantly made Percy want to stand his ground and draw Riptide. But, then again, Percy has to remind himself time and time again that this _is_ Nico's cabin after all, and that Nico is not scary (no matter how much the younger demigods insists he is), and that Nico wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.

Heavy columns loom over Percy, Travis, and Connor, surprisingly casting even heavier shadows that seemed to dance on the ground against the blazing torches perched high on the door frame. The flames—green like Greek-fire—crackle loudly, licking the skull with ruby-red eyes, practically engulfing the porcelain figure.

Travis whistles lowly. "Boy, this place is creepy."

"They're following me," Connor whispers, moving from side to side. "I swear the eyes are following me. Holy Styx, Travis, they're following me."

The brothers walk circles around Percy, hands firm on his wrists, and Percy can't help but to feel a twinge of annoyance as he circles around with them.

"Do you think we can make it go cross-eyed?" Connor whispers again, and Percy takes that as his cue to leave. And so, he separates himself from the Stolls, and gives them each a pat on the back before knocking on Nico's door. He's rather impatient and decides to go right on in—it's not like Nico locks his door, anyway.

Instantly, Percy is hit with startling warmth as he shuts the door behind him, and he smiles. Nico's one of those weird people who always has the heat spiked up all the way; it's the only he can get comfortable. His eyes scan the room and reach a bundle of black hair peeking under a messy blanket. "Just wanted to stop by and say hey to my favorite son of Hades."

"I'm the only son of Hades," Nico retorts, voice slightly muffled. "Unless father is hiding something from me again."

Percy chuckles lowly, making his way to Nico's bed—appropriately king sized with plush pillows resting against a dark wooden headboard—and settles down on silky sheets. His hair's messy and curls up like bat wings, and Percy can't help but to run a hand through the inky locks. "You know what I mean."

Nico hums in content and snuggles in closer to Percy, resting his head on the older teen's thigh. Percy continues to run his hands through his hair, because holy crap is it soft, and since Nico seems too busy to actually initiate some sort of conversation, he will. "How's it going?"

"'m tired," Nico mumbles against his shorts, sending small, tiny vibrations up and down his leg.

Percy raises an eyebrow. "You're always tired."

Rolling over, Nico stares at Percy's eyes before saying, "And your point is?"

"I missed you," Percy blurts out. And before his filter could catch up with his mouth, he hurriedly says, "You've been alone for most of the day and all I've wanted to do is spend time with you," because he needs Nico to hear that, to hear himself say that.

"Oh."

Percy swallows hard, his Adam's apple bouncing on his throat. "Yeah."

Nico gets up—suddenly, Percy feels a lot colder—and changes the subject. Percy notices but doesn't say anything. "I made you something."

This comes as a shock to Percy. "Seriously?" Nico nods and looks away, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. He can't help but to give him a hug. "That's so nice of you, Nico, but really, you shouldn't have."

"It's your birthday, of course I do." Percy parts his mouth to say something, but Nico takes that as an opportunity to kiss him, effectively shutting him up. They separate with Percy's bottom lip in between Nico's teeth, his eyes dangerously dark. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Percy nods dumbly (_That's new_, he thinks to himself) and rests his head against a stray pillow, watching Nico run off to only the gods' know where.

* * *

"To seventeen years of saving the gods' asses," Nico calls out from a shadowed corner in the cabin with an uncharacteristically large grin on his face. His aviator jacket is off, and his hands are behind his back.

Percy laughs. "And hopefully no more to come."

"Breaking news," Nico says with a deep voice as he walks towards the bed, "there's a Third Great Prophecy. And you're in it. Again. For the third time. What a coincidence!"

"Is it bad that I can totally imagine that happening?" Percy grumbles. He could already envision Rachel suddenly spouting out a huge prophecy as green mist pours out of her mouth, twisting and turning in the air.

Nico snickers and settles into Percy's side, wrapping his arm around his waist. Percy gives him a squeeze, warmth immediately flushing his skin. "I wouldn't put it past them to do that, honestly."

Resting his chin on Nico's head, Percy remarks, "Yeah, thanks, but I'll pass. I'm a bit too busy with a certain son of Hades at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep. _Beeeep_." He can feel the younger demigod smiling into his shoulder, and they stay like that for a few moments, just holding each other.

"Anyway, this is for you." Nico all but shoves the object into Percy's hand. He peers down and... what?

"Is this a blue cupcake?" Nico nods and indeed it was. Dark blue cake batter with blue frosting swirled on top of it, and a lit candle.

Nico places a small and strangely familiar plastic bag beside him."I got you some candy, too."

Percy gapes, "Is that from Sweet On America? Oh my gods," and reaches for the bag. No wonder it looked familiar; Sweet on America was the candy store his mom worked in before she'd quit to work on her book.

Nico nods again. "There are jellybeans and licorice and lollipops and stuff. All blue, if you were wondering."

"Oh my gods," Percy repeats. This is all too good to be true. "Where—When did you get all this stuff? And did you _make_ that cupcake?"

"Uh," Nico says, "about five minutes ago. And I stole that cupcake."

Classic Nico di Angelo. Classic.

* * *

After a few moments of explaining why stealing is bad and how Nico should've at least left some money on the counter, Percy sighs and gives Nico another hug, kissing his forehead and whispering, "Thank you," against his hair.

"Aren't you gonna blow it out?" Nico asks, and Percy can see the child-like excitement in his eyes. It suddenly makes him remember the time Nico showed up for his fifteenth birthday and wonder if Nico ever actually had a chance to celebrate his own birthday. He takes a mental note to make Nico's next birthday—whenever _that_ was—the best.

Percy sticks his tongue out. "Give me a minute. I need to think of a wish first." And he rests his chin on top of Nico's head once more, pondering out loud. "Hmm... maybe I should... nah. But what about—"

"If you don't blow it out right now," Nico warns, "I'm gonna do it for you." And so Percy does.

"I was kidding," he says, swiping some frosting off with his finger and licking it off. "I already have everything I want." He gives Nico a cheeky smile before saying, "Like you."

Nico snorts. "How long did it take you to think of that one?"

"That whole time I was thinking out loud." Percy grins anyway because he got the desired effect—a blushing Nico. They decide to share the cupcake and eat it apart messily with their fingers in between kisses, using the frosting to paint the inside of each other's mouths. Once they finish, Percy crumples up the cupcake paper and puts it in the already half-empty Sweet On America bag.

They're really close now, Percy realizes, so close that Percy can see Nico's blue veins rushing under the pale, freckled skin of his wrists. Nico's head is resting in the crook of Percy's shoulder, eyes shut, mouth right against his collarbone, and this is the most calm Percy's ever seen him.

"This reminds me of last year," Percy muses out loud, and Nico's eyes immediately shut open, and Nico's body is no longer against his, and Percy immediately wishes he hadn't said that. "... Nico?"

"How long is this actually going to last?" His tone is blunt and cold, and Percy freezes for the second time that night.

"I don't know what you mean, Nico."

"This... this thing. Whatever you want to call it."

Percy frowns. He couldn't help but to feel hurt. "You mean our relationship?"

"I'm not used to having people stick around, Percy."

Percy gathers Nico up in his arms in a tight embrace. "I'm not leaving you. I promise."

And Nico replies, in a deadly-quiet whisper, "That's what you said last time." _Bianca_.

And Percy says, for the second time that night, "I'm sorry." Because really, he can't say anything else.

And Nico says, "It's okay." Because really, he can't say anything else either.

* * *

After a long bout of silence, it's Nico who breaks it. "I don't deserve you."

Percy's hold on Nico tenses, and he buries his head into Nico's neck. "Don't say that," he mumbles.

"Who am I kidding?" Nico chuckles darkly, and Percy doesn't like where this is going. "Me with the camp hero? This was doomed to fail at the start."

"Nico," Percy says with a stern tone, "look at me." When he doesn't, Percy kisses up and down his jawline the way he knows he likes it. "I don't exactly know where this is heading, but all I know is that I want to be with you."

Nico looks down at his sheets, fabric clasped tightly in between his fingers.

"You make me happy, Nico." Percy gives him a kiss on the cheek and whispers, "Isn't that enough?"

Nico bites his lip, and after a while, he nods slowly. "It's enough."

* * *

**AN: I swore to myself I wasn't going to write a Percico fic, but goddamnit I did. And this was originally going to be very fluffy but I don't know what happened, really. And the first time I published this, I spelled the title wrong. It's like 4 am, okay.**

**Lines that I wanted to fit in the fic but couldn't:**

**Percy whispers under his breath, "Who knew the Stolls actually cared about people?"**

**Blue Cupcakes and Percico.**

**~Taffeh**


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